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Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
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    • Articles, USA Basketball

    melo-actionIncluding a mix of 16 current collegians, five players who have most recently played professionally overseas, and one player who played in the NBA in 2014-15, USA Basketball today announced 22 players have accepted invitations to take part in the 2015 U.S. Pan American Men’s Basketball Team training camp that will be used to select the 12 players who will represent the United States at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada.

    Athletes expected to attend the U.S. Pan American Men’s Basketball Team training camp include Ron Baker (Wichita State/Scott City, Kan.); Malcolm Brogdon (Virginia/Atlanta, Ga.); Bobby Brown (Dongguan Leopards, China/Los Angeles, Calif.); Isaiah Cousins (Oklahoma/Mount Vernon, N.Y.); Micah Downs (Avtodor Saratov, Russia/Bothell, Wash.); Kellen Dunham (Butler/Pendleton, Ind.); Rico Gathers (Baylor/LaPlace, La.); Keith Langford (UNICS Kazan, Russia/Fort Worth, Texas); Shawn Long (Louisiana/Morgan City, La.); Monte’ Morris (Iowa State/Flint, Mich.); Taurean Prince (Baylor/San Antonio, Texas); Anthony Randolph (Lokomotiv-Kuban, Russia/Pasadena, Calif.); Joshua Scott (Colorado/Monument, Colo.); Kaleb Tarczewski (Arizona/Claremont, N.H.); Romelo Trimble (Maryland/Upper Marlboro, Md.); Denzel Valentine (Michigan State/Lansing, Mich.); Fred Van Vleet (Wichita State/Rockford, Ill.); and Damien Wilkins (Indios de Mayagüez, Puerto Rico/Orlando, Fla.).

    Articles, USA Basketball

    Josh JacksonBy JOSH NEWMAN

    Led by a game-high 20 points and 10 rebounds from Josh Jackson, a trio of 2016 stars helped the United State Under-19 National Team overcome a slow start to defeat Iran, 83-53, Saturday morning to open the FIBA World Championships in Greece.

    Jackson, the No. 1-rated player in the nation according to Rivals.com, shot 8-for-14 and added four steals, while Harry Giles finished with 14 points and nine rebounds and Jayson Tatum added 12 points and seven rebounds.

    Giles and Tatum are rated second and third in the Class of 2016, respectively, by Rivals.

    Articles

    cliff-alexanderNEW YORK — There was a time, not so long ago, when Cliff Alexander was a projected lottery pick in the NBA Draft.

    As late as last July, the 6-foot-8 power forward was ranked by DraftExpress.com as the No. 2 pick in this draft behind only Duke’s Jahlil Okafor.

    By November, he had fallen to No. 10.

    By February, he was at No. 17.

    In March, after he stopped playing during his freshman year at Kansas as the NCAA investigated his mother’s ties to a financial firm specializing in pre-draft loans for athletes, he fell to No. 31.

    Articles, Kentucky, Recruiting

    Jamal Murray action 2Kentucky point guard Tyler Ulis says he’s looking forward to playing alongside incoming stud Jamal Murray even though the two play the same position.

    “That’s very big for us because that gives us another guard, more depth,” the 5-foot-9 Ulis told Steve Jones of the Courier-Journal at Rajon Rondo’s camp. “Last year we have 10 guys, and we don’t know how many we’re going to have this year. Me and [Isaiah] Briscoe, he’s a crazy dude. He’s funny. It’s going to be a lot of fun. Playing with them in the backcourt, I can’t wait.”

    As reported in this column on Thursday, coaches associated with both the 6-5 Murray and the 6-3 Briscoe believe all three point guards can jell and thrive in a multiple-guard set under Kentucky coach John Calipari.

    “I feel like it’ll work a lot,” Ulis said. “It gives a different type of look of guards. Briscoe is more of a slashing guard, scoring at the rim. I’m more of a shooter and facilitator. Jamal, I haven’t seen much of him, but I know he dropped 30 on Briscoe [in the Nike Hoop Summit in April], so I know it’s going to be fun for us.”

    Ulis still sees himself as the primary point guard, though.

    “I was able to hide [last year] behind Andrew [Harrison] a little bit, so more of the pressure is on him,” he said. “I’m the top point guard, so I have to come out and play and have to lead the team on and off the court. [My role] changes a lot.”

    Articles, St. John's

    usa-today-8367845.0Several former St. John’s and UConn standouts will play summer league with the Toronto Raptors.

    Former St. John’s forward Orlando Sanchez and former Red Storm guard Phil Greene IV will both compete with Toronto, their agents confirmed to SNY.tv.

    Meantime, former UConn small forward DeAndre Daniels, a key component of their 2014 NCAA championship team, will also play with Toronto, according to Kevin Rashidi. The 6-foot-9 Daniels was drafted No. 37 by Toronto in 2014, but played in Australia last year for the Perth Wildcats of the National Basketball League.

    “It feels good,” Greene IV told SNY.tv. “It’s a step in the right direction and my goal is to go out there and showcase my skills to the best of my abilities.”

    After a recent workout with the Nets, Gregg Polinsky, their director of player personnel, said he thought Greene IV had a “shot” to make the NBA.

    Articles, Recruiting

    4_2943895By SEAN MORAN

    CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — When June turns to July and the college coaches are out on the recruiting trail a name to remember is DeAndre Hunter. The 6-foot-7 small forward out of Philadelphia (PA) Friends Central just finished off showcasing his skills at the NBPA Top 100 camp last weekend and is set to have a big summer.

    The lanky wing from Philadelphia was a late invite to the Top 100 camp, but that didn’t stop him from competing against some of the top players in the country.

    “The director of my AAU team called me on Wednesday and they said I had a spot and you need to get down there some way,” said Hunter, ranked the No. 21 small forward in the Class of 2016 by 247Sports.com.

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